"Brother Lin Yu, don't worry. Since Big Boss Wang Gang already took the Horror Coins from Wang Shan and me, he'll definitely look after you."
"Yeah, Brother Lin Yu. Big Boss Wang Gang has already cleared two instances before. He's way more experienced than us."
Li Hai and Wang Shan spoke from the side, their expressions looking rather pleased.
"I never said I was planning to act together with you."
Compared to the smiles on Li Hai's and Wang Shan's faces, Lin Yu replied calmly, his expression completely indifferent.
The moment those words left his mouth—
The smiles on Li Hai's and Wang Shan's faces instantly froze, shock flashing in their eyes.
Even Wang Gang, standing to the side, showed a fleeting trace of surprise.
[??? Did I hear that right? Lin Yu actually refused?!]
[Holy crap—this is way too unexpected!!]
[What's going on with this newbie Lin Yu? How did he figure it out?]
[Wait… is there a chance this newbie is just pretending?]
...
The moment Lin Yu spoke, not only were Wang Gang and the other two stunned—
Even the viewers in the livestream room widened their eyes in disbelief.
Some of them even wondered if they had misheard.
Faced with such flawless acting from the three of them—
Lin Yu actually rejected them outright!
...
"Brother Lin Yu… what do you mean by that?"
After a few seconds of silence, Li Hai finally spoke again, his expression neutral but noticeably colder than before.
"Yeah, Brother Lin Yu. What exactly did you mean just now?"
"Wang Shan and I each paid 100 Horror Coins to get Big Boss Wang Gang to agree to bring you along. Wasn't what you said just now a bit… hurtful?"
At the same time, Wang Shan also spoke, his face darkened, the look in his eyes toward Lin Yu turning distinctly unfriendly.
"Exactly what it sounds like."
"Your acting… is kind of bad."
Lin Yu replied in the same calm tone as before, as if their change in attitude meant nothing to him.
In reality—
He had seen through Wang Gang's trio from the very beginning.
He had simply been watching quietly, curious to see how long they planned to keep the act going.
After all—
He didn't believe he'd be lucky enough to run into two genuinely kind veteran players at once.
More importantly—
Lin Yu was very clear about one thing.
This beginner instance only required him to hide and survive within the time limit without being discovered by the castle's master.
To put it bluntly—
It was just a game of hide-and-seek, like the ones he used to play as a kid.
Each hider acted independently.
As long as he wasn't found, he won.
Under these circumstances, acting alone was the safest option.
Four people moving together?
That was basically asking to die faster.
Yet Li Hai and Wang Shan insisted on dragging him along—
Which clearly meant they had ulterior motives.
Of course—
There was also a tiny chance that Wang Gang was strong enough to casually carry others through the instance.
But that possibility was so small it might as well not exist.
It was like randomly buying a lottery ticket and hitting the jackpot.
Unless you worked at the lottery station.
Given that—
There was no way Lin Yu would be stupid enough to team up with them.
...
"Brother Lin Yu, you—"
"That's enough."
Li Hai seemed about to say something else, but Wang Gang cut him off impatiently.
"If he doesn't want help, why are you two bothering to lick cold asses with hot faces?"
Li Hai looked unwilling, but ultimately stayed silent.
"You… very good."
Wang Gang turned his gaze toward Lin Yu and spoke meaningfully.
[Preparation phase ending…]
[Countdown begins…]
As the system prompts sounded—
A countdown appeared on Lin Yu's mission panel.
Only five minutes remained, ticking down rapidly.
Seeing this, Lin Yu didn't waste another word on Wang Gang's group.
He stood up and headed toward the exit of the study.
Throughout the process, he kept his body pressed close to the wall, watching Wang Gang and the other two carefully—
In case their plan had failed and they decided to lash out in anger.
After all—
From the very beginning, Wang Gang, Li Hai, and Wang Shan had never had good intentions toward him.
Everything Li Hai said from the first sentence onward had been a setup, trying to lure him into acting together.
Now that he had exposed their scheme—
If they decided to go all out, he would be at a serious disadvantage.
He was alone.
They were three.
And all three of them were players who had already cleared at least one instance.
Chances were high they had items on them.
If he fought head-on, he would definitely lose.
As for the Horror Coins they mentioned—
Lin Yu knew exactly what those were.
They were a special currency unique to the horror game.
Players received them after clearing instances.
They could be used to purchase items in the horror game shop, or traded with other players.
However—
Many functions of the horror game were still locked for him.
He would need to clear this beginner instance before unlocking them.
Lin Yu clenched his teeth lightly.
He had already made up his mind.
If Wang Gang and the others tried to make a move—
He would bite through his tongue and spray blood onto them.
After all—
The instance warning was crystal clear.
[Please avoid injury. The Blood Clan Queen is extremely sensitive to the scent of blood!]
Once injured, he would become the castle master's primary target.
Worst case scenario—
They would all go down together.
Fortunately—
The situation Lin Yu feared did not occur.
Wang Gang and the others simply watched silently as he left, showing no intention of stopping him.
Only then did Lin Yu finally let out a breath of relief.
"Don't let me run into you again."
After stepping out of the study, Lin Yu saw Wang Shan walk to the doorway and glare viciously at him, throwing out a threatening remark before slamming the door shut.
Lin Yu stared at the closed study door for a few seconds, as if having made some kind of decision.
Then—
A trace of bitterness surfaced on his face.
...